Stop smoking at home: proven methods

Two of my colleagues decided to quit smoking at the same time.One of them successfully carried out his intention and has been without cigarettes for three years now.And another, like Mark Twain, quit more than once - it lasted until the first event with alcohol.

In general, both have a happy attitude towards alcohol, they can drink together on vacation or on vacation, but one remains resistant to tobacco products and the other cannot stand it.

At the same time, both lead a busy life, periodically go to the gym, cinema and concerts, go rafting, fishing and mushroom picking.They often do it together.

So, what is the power of an addiction and why are some people able to resist it and others not?

"Let's smoke, comrade, one at a time..."

Everyone is already more or less aware that a smoker's addiction develops at the level of the body and at the level of the psyche.Physiological dependence develops over time;nicotine becomes a necessary link in metabolism.When its content is reduced, the body feels a lack of something familiar and signals: “I want more!”

Advertising of anti-smoking products relies on this addiction, calling for switching to an electronic cigarette rather than a regular cigarette or chewing special gum, that is, trying to deceive the body.

But experts (psychologists, narcologists) know that the main reason for addiction is psychological.This is the reason why you started smoking, it was before your first cigarette.Freud characterized smoking as a consequence of oral fixation, a desire to return to a state of comfort and security next to the mother's breast.For the same reason, people overeat or chew something all the time.Because of this, a myth has also been born that those who quit smoking risk gaining weight.This only happens if they fill the void with food without addressing the root cause of the addiction.

There are other reasons for smoking: for some, it is a way to concentrate, for others, it is an aesthetic ritual or an invented image.Warning: in old films, everyone smokes.Aristocrats and actresses blow smoke rings aesthetically;a cigarette between soldiers is a symbol of brotherhood;cowboys take a drag on a cigar or cigarette;Holmes and Poirot are brilliant while smoking;there is nothing to say about the Indian peace pipe.This may be the machinations of tobacco companies trying to join the ranks of their victims.“I would ban it from now on if you found an equally profitable virtue in it,” said Napoleon III.

A romantic flair creates a belief: if you light a cigarette, you are a macho man or a fatal beauty;intelligent and mysterious;above others, chosen;a creative person;a good guy, a true friend.Everyone chooses what they want and only one remedy is offered to them: nicotine.

The environment plays a huge role: if the parents smoke, the child takes it as a model from childhood;if there are many smokers in a company, there is a desire to join the majority, especially if it is a new job (class or group of an educational institution) and the person wants to join the team.Teenagers may experience peer pressure to prove their maturity.And of course, simple human curiosity.

What happens when you stop smoking?A person finds himself out of place in a company, shy and unable to meet a girl without a cigarette, experiencing constant discomfort, stressed for some reason, nervous, irritable, etc.Many run the risk of collapsing and taking the “pacifier” again.

Talking about the health dangers of smoking: lung cancer, gangrene of the extremities, problems with blood vessels, heart, stroke, heart attack, bad skin, pregnancy difficulties, potency problems, prospect of premature death - does not enlighten, but only irritates smokers.

Even if your voice is hoarse, plaque has appeared on your teeth and on your tongue, chest cough, shortness of breath, phlegm, pain, insomnia, throbbing in the temples - first symptoms of impending troubles - this does not help you overcome your addiction.Education (memos to schoolchildren and parents, lectures from doctors, instructions from sports coaches, etc.) plays a major role at the prevention stage in order to avoid smoking the first cigarette.

The question of money does not concern everyone: they say: I can afford it.A car, travel and other pleasures, which theoretically can be bought with the saved money, are for a smoker a symbol of deprivation and limitation of other needs.

That's why, if you decide to quit smoking, it's important to get to the root of the problem: understanding what tobacco does for you (what it takes away from you) and how to satisfy that need in a different way.Otherwise, the smoker will be bothered by the fear of losing something by giving up nicotine and will be left without support and support.

Know that this is an addiction and you are not losing anything, just getting rid of it.

Ways to get rid of addiction

• "Various proprietary techniques. Here are two: “The Easy Way to Quit Smoking” by Allen Carr. I interviewed a dozen friends who were ex-smokers and three of them said this book helped them.It was written in 1985 and still remains the world's most popular guide to quitting smoking.Postulates:It's easy to start living nicotine-free at any age;willpower is not only useless, but rather an obstacle.According to the author, those who quit smoking with the help of willpower experience torment - due to the feeling that they are overcoming something and enduring trials.There is no point in fighting against smoking: the war is exhausting.You just need to make a conscious decision and “not hope, but know that you have already quit smoking by making such a decision.”And everything will be painless.The author uses his experience as a former smoker with 33 years of experience and convincingly makes readers understand that they will only benefit from quitting the addiction. “Four stinking sighs” by Vladimir Zhdanov- a well-known technique.Designed to arouse an aversion to tobacco.To do this, the sensations of tobacco are brought to the maximum: the tobacco smoke must be held in the mouth, chewed with the mouth closed and the head thrown back.After 30 seconds you can push the smoke into your lungs.You'll want to cough, you'll choke, you'll start to feel sick - but you'll have to take 2 more puffs while chewing the smoke.The fourth time, you will have to inhale your lungs full of smoke.Then, using your abdominal muscles, cough for a long time.Write down on the package the date and time you took 4 smelly breaths.You can't smoke anymore.If it becomes unbearable, chew the smoke again.
• With the help of a doctor.If you trust traditional medicine more or suffer from chronic diseases, you can contact a medical center.Discuss with a specialist whether to stop immediately or gradually, whether it is worth replacing cigarettes with something else at first.The doctor will advise you on a diet, select sedatives, antidepressants, monitor blood pressure and monitor changes at different stages.
• Coding, hypnosis.This affects the subconscious, the goal is to develop a conditioned reflex against smoking.The specialist can put the patient into a hypnotic sleep state, but this is not necessary.

So, my good friend once downloaded for his mother, a smoker with almost 30 years of experience, a psychotherapeutic session aimed at quickly getting rid of addiction.Mom watched the video and a few days later the family suddenly realized that she didn't smoke.It doesn't last, I even threw the opened pack away.Surprisingly, but true: more than 10 years have passed since then.

• Neurolinguistic programming.One of the presuppositions (axioms) of NLP is: “Change can be instantaneous”.Various NLP techniques aim to quickly replace the negative with positive and reprogram consciousness.You can contact a psychologist who uses this method.
• Acupuncture.Modifies the conditioned reflex of smoking.The reflexologist acts on certain points and interrupts the chain of impulses.

You can yourself, whenever you feel like smoking, use your finger to massage the point at the front of the throat, in the middle of the hollow at the base of the neck, in the depression.

Press hard until it hurts, count to threeand let go.Repeat 15 times.It is best to perform the procedure while sitting or lying down - weakness and dizziness may occur due to a decrease in pressure.

• Sudden abolition of cigarettes in a new environment, with a move.Moving to a remote location without access to cigarette products or traveling with non-smoking friends.In a month you can change: clean yourself up and get used to not smoking.Radical and effective.
• Embark on work, sport and creativity.Participation in congresses, festivals, competitions, etc.It takes a calendar without days off, a busy schedule to quit smoking.The point is to make it interesting, then you'll be less likely to remember your habit - sorry, addiction.
• Restructuring of consciousness: passion for spiritual teachings, healthy lifestyle, departure to an eco-village, pilgrimage to holy places, etc.One of my friends stopped smoking, carried away by Torsunov's lectures, Ayurveda and Krishnaism.Many years have passed since then, she has stopped being a Hare Krishna, she is neutral towards religions, but she still does not smoke.

Here it is important to watch your own roof, that is, your psyche;there is a risk of becoming a fan, a sectarian, a hostage of black education.But in general, it is an effective way;It is not for nothing that in rehabilitation centers they often exchange addiction to alcohol or drugs for adherence to a religion.

• Substitutes: Electronic cigarette.The method is controversial.Now they say that its use is harmful, the substances contained in it are toxic, and the effect of the cigarette itself as a means of quitting smoking is weak.However, there are people that it has really helped.Nicotine gum, tablets, patches, hookah, herbal cigars, vapes, etc.Allan Carr categorically calls for people to stop smoking immediately, once and for all, and to forget about these substitutes for cigarettes.But, as practice shows, many people use them successfully.For example, the colleague mentioned at the beginning of the material quit smoking, gradually reducing the number of cigarettes, while taking popular anti-smoking pills.He had a powerful motivation.So you can choose any method, but just stick to the decision to get rid of cigarettes for good.
• Just stop.This is exactly what an old friend of mine, a former heavy smoker with 20 years of experience, did – without books, without techniques, without chewing gum or e-cigarettes.And he doesn't believe it's difficult to get by on your own.After all, the main thing is to decide!

Tips for the brave

What time to start a new life?There is an opinion that if a cigarette helps you relax after hard work, then you should give it up on vacation, when you are not already stressed.If, on the contrary, you have the habit of smoking on vacation, then during the withdrawal period you should load yourself with as many activities as possible.

Another approach- on the contrary, choose a situation that makes you dizzy to understand: if you survived such stress without a cigarette, you can continue to live without it.The same Carr, after going through these options, came to the conclusion that it is not necessary to choose the moment, so as not to procrastinate and not make a mistake.The best time is NOW.

1. If possible, remove everything related to smoking from sight, hearing and smell.Get rid of ashtrays, lighters, cigarettes.
2. If you decide to stop gradually, buy a pack only after finishing the previous one.Don't take blocks.Reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke per day.Smoke the cigarette only halfway and do not take deep drags.Wash your hands, change your clothes so you don't smell like tobacco.
3. Try to consciously be in a state of balance, avoid stressful situations.
4. Try to get interested in something.If you already have a hobby, spend more time on it.
5. Treat yourself to a pleasant physical activity: slow jogging in the morning, gym, fitness, yoga, wushu...
6. Breathing exercises have proven to be excellent in the fight against smoking.Try yoga breathing or other similar practices.They help to saturate the body with oxygen, calm the mind and soul.It's best to practice with a trainer first - he will make sure you do the exercises correctly.
7. Massage and meditation will also help you relax and have fun without using nicotine.
8. Avoid places and businesses where people smoke, try not to breathe smoke.But don’t go to extremes so as not to exclude yourself from society and feel alone.If your friends smoke, this is not a reason to avoid or envy them, change your attitude to the situation: you have already liberated yourself, but they have not yet.It is not smoking that gives them pleasure, but they cannot enjoy life without cigarettes.
9. Those who have passed this path say that the first week is the most difficult (but it is quite possible to endure it!), And after three weeks without nicotine, the body is cleansed, rebuilt and improvement occurs.

Treat your condition as a mild illness, try not to succumb to brain tricks like “just one cigarette”, “it's hard not to smoke now, I'll choose a more suitable time to quit”.Keep a diary: “I quit smoking – the daily consequences.» Write down what you feel and note the result: a week, a month, three without poisoning yourself.

If you find it difficult to quit smoking instantly, try this program:

The first 10 days – 15 cigarettes per day.
20 more days - 10 cigarettes.
Next month - no more than five pieces per day.
Then, each week, reduce the number of “nicotine sticks” smoked by exactly one piece.So, in three months, you will reduce the number of cigarettes you smoke to zero.

Review your diet

In general, sweets help overcome drug addiction, but favor slow carbohydrates, such as fruit (rather than candy).

• Drink more clean water - this cleanses the body and reduces nicotine cravings.
• Be sure to eat honey - mix a teaspoon in a glass of water in the morning and drink on an empty stomach.
• Replenish vitamin C reserves - nicotine removes it from the body.Citrus and currant juices will replenish your intake of this vitamin and help you in your anti-smoking campaign.
• Avoid alcohol and coffee.Eat less spicy, smoked and salty foods - all this provokes smoking.Recommendedliver, boiled potatoes, carrots, cauliflower, eggplants, tomatoes, cucumbers, peanuts, peas, beans, bread, sea fish, carrots and other products low in nicotinic acid.

So, we talk about blunting the urge to smoke.cold salad (!)boiled potatoes, fried eggplants and fresh tomatoes.

• Take with you and chew when you want to smoke: cheese “laces” (if desired, in a pack of cigarettes, just watch the calories so as not to gain weight);pineapple - fresh or candied without sugar;nuts, seeds (preferably pumpkin seeds);dried fruits.
• Drinking milk is now thanks to you “for its harmfulness”, it cleans the lungs, throat and bronchi.
• Scrolling lemon and honey through a meat grinder (1:1) will also help eliminate the effects of smoking.For a month, eat one tablespoon before meals.

How to reduce the urge to smoke - popular tips

1. Chew horseradish and plantain (fresh leaves in equal amounts).The juice should be swallowed and the greens should be spit out.Don't drink or binge.Repeat several times a day.

For the same purpose, use ginger, calamus root, a sprig of fresh bird cherry or turnip.

2. Before smoking, wet the cigarette in a fermented milk product (kefir, yogurt, etc.).Smoking will be unpleasant, the habit will weaken.
3. The old method involves mixing dried oats with tobacco.
4. Pour boiling water (1 liter) over oats, rye, millet and barley (all 100 g) and leave on the fire for 8-10 minutes.Filter the broth and place it in a thermos.It will be ready in a day.Drink half a glass 3 to 5 times a day before meals.

Oats are generally very good for withdrawal (withdrawal) symptoms.It perfectly restores vitality, calms, improves sleep and arouses aversion to nicotine.

There are many cooking recipes.Before going to bed, you can grind the grains (1 tablespoon) and add cooled water (2 cups).In the morning, boil and drink instead of tea.

5. Decoction: St. John's wort (1 tablespoon), wild rosemary (0.5 tablespoon), boiling water (600 ml).Keep on low heat for 20 minutes.Then dilute half with water.Sugar, honey or jam - to taste.They drink this tea 5-7 times a day, but it should not be taken late in the evening.The duration of admission is one month.Warning: its use is dangerous for pregnant women and during breastfeeding, tuberculosis patients and people whose skin reacts to the sun.

Warning: its use is dangerous for pregnant women and during breastfeeding, tuberculosis patients and people whose skin reacts to the sun.

6. Add chicory, nettle, mint and valerian to black tea (ratio 2:1:1:1:1).Use as tea.
7. Take equal proportions of black currant leaves, oregano and mint.Make an infusion in a thermos (5 tablespoons per liter of boiling water).Drink 100 ml 30 minutes before meals.The course lasts one month.
8. Eucalyptus (1 tablespoon of leaves) plus boiling water (400 ml).After an hour, add glycerin and honey (1 tablespoon each) to the resulting infusion.Drink a quarter of a glass 4 to 5 times a day for a month.
9. Burdock juice mixed with water.Drink before bed for a month.

By the way, burdock is actively used in the treatment of cancer patients, so it is useful from all sides.

10. And finally, the most exotic way.You need to collect the crayfish, dry them in the shade, then grind them into powder.A small amount of this powder is mixed with tobacco and smoked.After that, even the most avid smoker should forget about his addiction.

Good luck and may the Force be with you!